Jim Lindsey was born on a farm in Sand Hill, a community near the county seat of Boston in Bowie County on February 1, 1926. He graduated from James Bowie High School in Simms in 1941. He attended North Texas Agricultural College in Arlington, Texas for one year before enlisting in the United States Army Air Corps. Upon completion of his military career, Lindsey entered Baylor University Law School in 1945, earning his law degree in 1950.

Lindsey served as a member of the Texas Legislature representing a district that included Texarkana from 1949 to 1957. He was chair of the House Revenue and Taxation Committee, and vice chair of the Legislative Audit Committee, the Legislative Budget Board, and the Texas Legislative Council. In his first term, Lindsey served as a floor leader during the debates that resulted in passage of the Gilmer-Aikin school reform bill.

He was elected speaker in 1955. Much of that session focused on passage of the Texas Business Corporation Act, the first major overhaul of Texas corporation laws in eight decades. Scandals over the Veterans Land Board and insurance regulation also occupied the Legislature that year. Finally, Lindsey oversaw a revision of the Texas Probate Code. After his one term as speaker, he retired from elective office. Lindsey subsequently served as chair of the Texas Democratic Executive Committee from 1956 to 1959.

Since leaving politics, Lindsey's business interests have ranged from the practice of the law to real estate and finance. He and his wife Moja currently reside in Northern California. They have five children and nine grandchildren.